The Icelandic low-cost carrier is creating a stir offering international flights for as low as $99 one-way, which could open up transatlantic travel to droves of passengers. But what are you getting for your money?

The Enquirer sent me and photographer, Liz Dufour, on the very first flight from CVG to Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavik and here's what we found:

You're going to save money:

Surprise!

If you book a ticket, you're going to fly on a budget airline. That means it's a low-frills experience where additional perks will add to your comfort – but also to what you ultimately pay.

The Enquirer paid extra to book me on the very first flight out of CVG: $399 (I could have left a few days later for $99). My ticket back cost $99. Then I had to change my ticket when my bosses decided to extend the trip to nearly four days (another $124). All-in with my extras for a date-change, bags, food and beverage, I spent less than $800 to get to Europe and back.

That compares to $1,500 at the low end you would expect a legacy airline (Delta, American or United).

Travelers board WOW Airlines out of Keflavik International Airport in Iceland for non-stop service to Cincinnati.(Photo: Liz Dufour/)

You pay extra for perks:

If you buy a seat on Wow Air – that's all you've bought, all the extras are extra.

Want more leg room? That costs anywhere from $40 to $250 one-way more.The more you spend, the more room you get.

Want to bring a bag larger than a modest personal item (which is the size of backpack, briefcase or oversized purse)? You will pay $50-$70 more each way.

Want a sandwich, snack or a beer? Cha-ching, you just got billed more for those items ranging from $4 to $10 apiece.

Wow Air is a $500 million a year airline – and it makes a third of that from fees.

I deliberately booked the most basic seat on my flights. I am 6-foot-2 and what I got was just enough leg room to last six hours (glad I wasn't flying to Asia!).

It's basic, but it's not bad:

The question everyone asks, but must ultimately ask themselves is: Is it worth giving up the perks of a legacy carrier for the savings (on an international flight)?

Millions of domestic passengers have already answered that question for themselves. Millions of international passengers outside the U.S. have also answered it.

Worldwide, two of the five busiest airlines (in terms of most passengers) are low-cost providers: Southwest Airlines (serving North America) and Ryanair (huge in Europe).

What's different here is a low-cost carrier expanding its services across the Atlantic Ocean – a longer stretch when most low-cost airlines focus on shorter-haul flights.

It makes sense that low-cost providers would dominate short flights – only on the plane for 90 minutes? You can handle a little less legroom. And if the flight is cheap enough, you might decide to make a fast trip with less baggage.

Wow isn't reinventing the low-cost business model, just stretching it. Using its Reykjavik hub, the airline is using its geographic proximity to North America (1,000 miles closer than the rest of Europe) to make the trip a little shorter and more inviting to passengers.

Free, hidden perks of a smaller hub

Keflavík airport handled less than 9 million passengers in 2017 – just a little larger than CVG (which handles just shy of 8 million passengers a year) and a fraction of major international hubs in Atlanta, New York, London, Paris and elsewhere, all famous for long lines and other headaches.

We breezed through customs and baggage claim in half an hour (I've been to Europe a few times and that's easily a 90-minute ordeal)!

The food is... well, it's airplane food

I bought the Wow club sandwich on the return flight that was – well, fine. Edible but forgettable. Basically, the grab-and-go type of sandwich you could buy at a convenience store. It cost $10.49.

I also tried Gull beer – one of Iceland's top brands. It tasted like Old Milwaukee. You could buy one for $6.29 or two for $11.39. Okay, I wanted to be thorough; I bought and drank two on the return flight home.

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WOW flight attendant's uniforms embrace a vintage look from the glamorous golden age of Pan Am from the 1960's.(Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour)

Flight attendants were on it!

Wow Air's flight attendants are decked out in eye-catching purple uniforms. Besides the pop of color, the cut of the uniforms evoke the bygone era of Pan Am in its 1960s heyday. (Made me want to watch "Catch Me If You Can," but there were no in-flight movie options).

I was also impressed with their work ethic. Wow Air allowed Liz and me on early to the Reykjavik-bound flight to shoot photos from inside the cabin before boarding. The flight attendants didn't stand around mugging for the camera. They were too busy.

On the flight back, I asked for an Equal or Sweet 'n Low for my coffee and they didn't have one (all through Iceland, I noticed no-calorie sweeteners didn't seem that popular). One flight attendant reached into her own purse to give me a Splenda.

Wow.

CLOSE

The Icelandic airline will now fly out of several U.S. cities starting at less than $100. This killer deal will take effect Spring of 2018.
USA TODAY